Keshava temple

I’ve dewlt a bit on Gothic cathedrals and Khmer architecture. What was happening in India at the same time? Indians too were building temples that expressed views of the whole universe, and their creations could flap wings with anyone else’s. The Keshava (a name for Krishna) temple at Somnathpur was built near Mysore, Karnataka by a dynasty called the Hoysalas. They originally came from the hills in the western Ghats, and they established a small kingdom west of modern Bangalore. They grew into one of the largest states in southern India in the 12th century, and began to consolidate their power with temples as ornate as jewel boxes. Somnathpur’s shrine is the best preserved. The main building (above) consists of a central hall (which the door in the middle enters), and three shrines–one on each side, and one at the far end. The main shrine was for Keshava. On the surface, this form is a bit similar to Gothic cathedrals’ cross shape, with the nave leading to the two transepts and the choir at the far end. But, And the towers are partitioned into so many shapes and sculptures that the main effect is sheer abundance, rather than a single line with clear divisions between domains, which you can see in Chartres Cathedral. And I do mean abundance– The bottom of the main building has 6 levels of friezes. Each one is so intricate that you can feel as though you’re looking at several jewel boxes within a jewel box. The bottom row contains elephants, and horsemen strut their stuff i...

Small in scale but masterly in detail, the astonishingly beautiful Keshava Temple is one of the finest examples of Hoysala architecture, on par with the masterpieces of Belur and Halebid. Built in 1268, this star-shaped temple, located some 33km from Mysuru, is adorned with superb stone sculptures depicting various scenes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita, and the life and times of the Hoysala kings. Somnathpur is 8km south of Bannur. Take one of the half-hourly buses from Mysuru to Bannur (₹55, 50 minutes) and catch an autorickshaw (around ₹130 one way) from there. A half-day return trip by car from Mysuru should cost around ₹1200. Read more

The 13th century Keshava temple, described as “poetry in stone”, is getting a makeover ahead of the proposed visit of the UNESCO team to inspect the Hoysala monument nominated for inscription as a World Heritage Site. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has begun sprucing up the last of the great Hoysala temples located close to the Cauvery and was built by Soma or Somanatha, a high-ranking officer under the Hoysala King Narasimha III (1254-1291 CE), in 1268 CE. Hoysala classics The Keshava or the Kesava temple at Somanathapur is clubbed with two other Hoysala classics --– Chennakeshava temple at Belur and Hoysaleshwara temple at Halebid --– and are together India’s official nomination seeking UNESCO World Heritage status this year. In connection with it, the UNESCO team is tentatively scheduled to visit Somanathpur to inspect the monument along with the temples at Belur and Halebid. There has been a flurry of activity ever since the three monuments were officially nominated by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, for inscription as a UNESCO site. Senior officials of the ASI ---including its Director-General Vidyavathi –-- recently paid a visit to Somanathapur and inspected the ongoing works. Chemical treatment Both the exteriors and the interiors of the temple, including the sculptures, are being cleaned and spruced up using a light chemical solution to remove the accumulated grime. Meanwhile, tourists visiting the temple will be deprived of soaking in the m...

The Hoysaleshvara temple in the village of Halebidu, in the southwestern Indian state of Karnataka, is one of the most sculpturally elaborate buildings in South Asia. Dancing images of gods, goddesses, and celestial beings—carved in high relief into locally sourced blocks of schist used to build the temple—enliven the dynamically zigzagging exterior walls. Processions of elephants, cavalries of horses, and visual narratives wrap their way around the structure, beckoning viewers to follow along. From afar, the temple appears as a vast expanse of sculpture. Up close, the minutely carved details of its walls draw you in, filling your field of vision. Hoysala dynasty, which held political power in the region between c. 1000 and 1346. The Hoysaleshvara was one of the first temples to be built in the city, and it remained one of the most prominent. Then, as now, visitors must have been impressed by its monumentality and sculptural abundance—it is the largest surviving temple of the Hoysala period, and it was the first to display an innovative design that epitomizes what art historians now call the Hoysala style. The design of the Hoysaleshvara temple’s exterior walls is divided into three parts. On the bottom are eight sculptural friezes (horizontal bands of imagery) depicting elephants, lions, vines, horses, narratives, makaras (mythical aquatic creatures, sometimes identified as crocodiles), and hamsas (geese). Above them is a succession of large figural images, carved into bl...

The Chenna Keshava temple and the Gangadareshwara temple in Kaidala in Tumkur district were built by Gule Bachi, a chieftain of the Hoysala King Narasimha I in 1150 AD as per the stone inscriptions in Hale Kannada found in the Gangadareshwara temple. According to these records, Kaidala was called Kridakapuri and was a vibrant city and it is believed that Jakanachari, whose skills are attributed to some of the finest temples in the State, hailed from this city. The Chenna Kesava temple, whose grandeur matches that of the

Kurmavatara -The second avatar of Vishnu The image shows a sculptural relief depicting Kurmavatara, the second of the ten avatars (Dashavatara) of kurma means turtle. For a list of all the ten avatars, check the In this avatar, i.e., Kurmavatara) and positioned himself under Mount Mandara to act as a pivot. As you can see from the relief, hiranya means golden, and garbha means womb. According to Rigveda and Yajurveda, Prajapathi, a form of Brahma, was born from this womb. However, they differ in what Prajapathi created. In Rigveda, Pajapathi created abstract entities like mana (mind), kama (desire), and tapas (austerity), whereas, in Yajurveda, he created the real entities like the sky, the earth, seasons, devas, asuras, etc. Related Pages Hoysala Temples: – – – – – Badami Chalukya Temples: – – Vijayanagara Temples: – Angkor Wat Temples: – Copyright © 2019 – 2021 by YatrikaOne. All rights reserved.